Barracks - Everyone
As just about a half dozen people jumped into action to save Lupin a series of events took place. The first was Sebastian just about tackling the squads favorite panty-wearing pretty boy and overcompensating when the formerly unseen form of a lizard-faced mutant also diving for him mostly ineffectually but managing to trip the SOL into overshooting and pulling Lupin even further across the proverbial line of death.
Arms wrapped around the small man, the two of them slid half way across the line much to the shouts and screams of onlookers prepared for another set of deaths as they slid feet first and managed to halt their slide with Sebastians waist passing over and Lupin almost at the neck. But luckily without whatever sensor to the bomb was in their head not crossing the line didnt trigger the explosive. Recovering himself the lizard-mutant attempted to pull the two of them back on the
safe side of the line but clearly struggled with the weight.
William on the other hand was unimpeded as he swung at the larger mutant and his fist connected with the fat of his neck. Despite his strength, it felt all the world like he had punched a leather sack full of sand. More surprised than actually hurt, Rhindol sputtered at him incoherently with his hands up in surender before blubbering out
"A 'jus wanted ta make sure!" and following up with an exaggerated
"Whaaaaat, I didn't do nuffin!" at all the attention being thrown his way
While all eyes were on the fiasco with Lupin, Carina was able to get a better look at Locust' restraints. The cuffs were a simple red glowing band on each wrist connected to each other by barely a half-inch to allow basic twisting of the hands. A small device connected them to a sturdy-looking tether that connected to a simular pair around the operator's ankles but with enough slack to allow a kind of shuffle-walk.
A small box-like device connecting the two halves gave the impression of some kind of small but powerful servo that would snap the two ends together and quickly hog-tie the wearer as their wrists were forced to their ankles and vice versa.
Examining the operator further when forcing their chin up and a pill down their throat there was the slightest flutter and parting of her one visible eyes lids showing a false state of unconsciousness. Despite this, and being ousted, Locust did not overtly react and showing a remarkable show of ventriloquism managed to communicate in a quiet and clipped fashion without moving her mouth and with only the slightest inflection from her throat moving.
"Despite what you may believe, my feelings for you are not sexual, Sanroma." She muttered at Carina's oddly tender touch. It was quiet enough of a statement that with all the noise going on around them only Carina and maybe Molotra could have possibly heard it. There was a long pause before a single bloodshot eye opened to look at Carina under a hooded gaze. The look she gave the younger woman was unreadable as she sustained an uncomfortable eye contact.
"Peaches?" she finally asked, the tone of curiosity not reaching her eyes. But before Carina could answer the fiasco had just about ended beyond them and she could feel movement from the operator as she gently unclenched one of her fists. Inside was a small pre-packaged pill-slip much the same kind as daily-use medications. Inside of it was no pill or capsule but instead a small, circular-looking gel device.
Popping it open with two fingers the operator separated what turned out to be two contact lenses. Reaching as much as she could Locust pressed them into Carina's hands.
"I cannot reach my face, assist me." She stated in her usual tone that implied that, like usual, it was not a request.
Before anything could be done or questions asked, however, Locust having read some kind of que closed her eye and went back to her comatose act. Unseen at first but now glaringly apparent a now-familiar voice broke the silence.
"Shit! Can't leave you freaks alone for a few hours without you offing yourselves!" A peaking feminine voice laughed as Master sergeant Erin Zeleger was now in the doorway, arm slung around an anxious and clearly uncomfortable ensign.
"Enough wrestling." Easy called out in a more serious tone a moment later. "Line up and get ready to depart. You lot already have us late and the warden ain't gonna hold a ship for you lot. So unless you want to break your parole and end up frozen for the rest of your sentences while your brain rots away to mush without a chance of seeing the light of day this side of a century I advise you form up your men, Lieutenant" She advised to William in the tone reserved for all senior NCO's trying to impart knowledge onto a boot-lieutenant but without the taboo of actually ordering the officer.
As if to reinforce a point the figures of golem armored guards lingered just behind her as an unspoken threat.
"And you,
Sayonara." She stared down the end of the barracks at Carina. "Leave the vegetable. It'll get carted onto the ship. If it doesn't wake by the time we leave the system we'll space it and save the tax-payers a few davies. So save your free time for the rest of the medical-folks cause you lot have a mountain of forms to fill n'reading to do to get up to snuff with the NYRDs standards of field medical practice if you don't want malpractice tacked onto your list of charges!"
Without further fanfare the prisoners were lined up infront of the racks and cots and first the males, then the females, were lead carefully down the barracks and across a simple
black line painted on the floor before the doors that thankfully did nothing more than mark a boundary. A few glances were spared for the two corpses and Locust left behind as the group was marched in a single-file line down an interior passage of double-doors leading off into what seemed like hundreds of identical barracks.
At more than one, Golem armored guards dragged out the occasional corpse on a stretcher with an indentation in its head.
The march was quiet and somber with the exception of an animated Rhindol Cruz who more waddled along than actually marched as he practically narrated his every thought on what he saw.
The barracks were
awfully confusing like, too easy to end up'n a wrong one if'n you get the numbers on the side wrong. The corridors were
too darn tight, would it hurt ta just build it'all outside like normal folks? The smell of the halls was
too much'n like the pools they have them chemicals they put in and what not that hurts ya eyes and makes ya skin all itchy.
Finally he doubled back to how he
didn't mean to hurt the little guy more than a few times much to the fact he clearly forgot which one was Lupin; Who coincidentally was right behind the Rhino-man and got more than a close-up view of his belt-less trousers and the flash of his backside.
After a few minutes of marching, some clearly in circles and in patterns only the more well-trained of the group could have been able to tell was an obvious tactic to keep them from getting their bearings if they chose to bolt, they were lead to a series of armored elevators that more than a half-douzen maximus tanks could have fit on before it took them up several levels.
At the intersection of each level, Armored glass showed watching guards at banks of monitors or armored kill-boxes with rifles trained on them. After more than a half hour of excruciatingly slow travel up a rather dark metal-walled shaft the elevator stopped at a pair of armored bulkheads massive enough that a
Warbear could have strolled through them and had room to spare. It was not these doors that opened but instead a smaller utility-bulkhead behind them that swung open and the group was ushered through into a large room filled only with benches and armored if dented wall-lockers. At the end of the dressing room was a thick wall of transparent durandium with a small slit in it large enough to pass through any of the weapons visible on the other side.
"Gear up and line up. No not you too, Lieutenant!" Easy barked, before hooking a finger in one of Williams belt loops and pulling him off to the side and first to the armorer's window while the others were left to scavenge through lockers for dufflebags containing old ballistic vests dated back to the age of the Nepleslian Star Empire, doughboy helmets, rebreathers and gasmasks, flak-vests, the occasional piece of newer (if still years out of date) sets of webbing, etc.
At the window, a young and round-faced man more than a few doughnuts shy of being past overweight manned a desk on the other side of the wall and looked up and down at William with clear envy at him.
"What'll it be, Easy?~" He changed his tone at seeing Sergeant Zeleger and practically cooed at her with his full attention.
"Standard officers packet, Tommy." She smiled back with exaggerated kindness clear by a barely visible shiver at the admiration of the portly man. Oblivious to this, the man rummaged under the counter for a moment and slid over a clear plastic pouch containing a small codec book, radio-card with pre-assigned channels to insert into a comm-set, and a plastic card with a number that obviously fit one of the lockers.
"In #15 is a Nova, an HHG, and a styrling 45. Take
one only cause as soon as you do the others will lock in their slots." He glared down... Or more
up at William before passing his attention back to the object of his admiration. "Your usual was already taken up to the ship and should be waiting for you, Erin." He offered a genuine smile to Easy who only nodded and led William off to locker #15.
Inside was a dufflebag containing refurbished Golem armor sized for a SOL, and miscellaneous gear and necessities. The most obvious difference other than the armor compared to the enlisted lockers was three locked weapon silos with the aforementioned three pistols along with holsters and empty magazines.
While William got catered equipment most of theirs was sub-par at best. After the first person finished rounding up their gear and seemed to wander aimlessly they were directed by the clearly anxious older Ensign to the armors window where a line was quickly formed.
Each man or woman was issued a weapon catered to their MOS ranging from old SPAIDs to M3 or the occasional M2 rifle, shotguns, old styrling longbolts, and a plethora of other weapons and even a few of the women reading some vulnerability in the fat man were able to coo or coerce a much newer
rifle or some attachments from him, but no ammo or magazines. Quilly, despite her hideously grotesque chicken-wings was even offered a large
Shotgun looking weapon and held up the line for a remarkable amount of time as the tubby guard asked a series of gross and personal questions about elysian sex-habits ranging to if it was true how
loose they were morally speaking and if they
only did it back there to keep their purity.
He was shut up when Quilly was unceremoniously moved aside and a massive Rhino of a mutant leaned in towards the window making the armorer shirk back.
"Well'n i heard pigs like you squeal real good when they take it
back there."
For his actions, Rhindo left with a
little killer pistol which he actually laughed at and tucked into his pocket.
Next up was Lupin who got a sneer of jealously from the armorer who stared him down before a wicked grin creased his face. After disappearing for a while the armorer came back with an old but
massive Na-w3301 scout cannon which he struggled just to leg to the counter.
"It's either this or the junk-rifle." He nodded at a rifle on the wall behind himself that only Lupid would recognize as his own CCR rifle however it ended up here.
After that there were few hang ups. Niche equipment was sometimes parsed towards females who even got in line twice to help out the occasional male who buttered them up, and even Molotra was given two M2 rifles cobbled together on a familiar mount the armorer stated that he "
had no idea were they came from, but should fit what you've got there" in regards to her arms attachment.
No knives, ammo, or anything actually dangerous was issued other than weapons without or with empty magazines. With little time to fit everything in duffle bags the group was once again ushered along by an anxious NSN ensign and towards the
other doors, the massive ones.
When they eventually ground open it revealed a massive underground hangar that was devoid of all life or activity with the exception of a massive elevator slowly lowering a full-sized starship down in the form of an ancient
warhorse transport.
Relieved, the ensign ran off towards the ship despite the fact it would likely take the better part of half an hour to make it all the way down to the ground at the pace the massive starship-elevator was being lowered. Easy stopped the group from following and directed them to hold tight after the doors had closed.
"You've got some free time, do anything but fight or fuck. And be ready to embark in thirty!" With that she informed William he was responsible for his men and casually Easy walked off after the Ensign.
Left alone to their own devices many of the prisoners went back to their little formed groups and began to trade equipment, attachments, etc. amongst themselves; Leaving the genuinely
innocent group alone and with a half hour to finally get their bearings...
